I am doing just the opposite of what I read a lot of people are doing, trying to put AC into a '75 that did not originally come with it.

I have a '77 el Camino with AC and want to put it in the '75 that did not come with AC. First thing I looked at was the '75 blower box and I think that would also be considered the "AC delete" cover for cars that are having the AC removed? The configuration is just a little different so before I get started I wanted to ask if any knows:

- if I simply take the AC out of the '77 will is easily bolt into the '75 firewall without any cutting of the '75 firewall?

I know that I have to transition all the parts from the '77 over to the '75.

Any comments?

Bruce

:mrgreen:

(double post. sorry)

I'm not sure if your year is different but switching my 73's AC box over to a non AC from the same generation (think it was a 74 or 75 that I got it from) was not a direct bolt on. I had to drill a couple new holes in the firewall and box to make it go together but I did manage to salvage a couple of the connections that are already there. So it was not impossible but not exactly cake either. The other thing to keep in mind is that I don't think the fans line up in exactly the same spot. You're lucky though because an AC box is bigger than a non AC box so it should be easier to shift around til things line up. And the final thing to keep in mind is that I had a horrible time getting my AC box out in one piece as its fiberglass and many of the nuts/bolts that hold it in are very difficult to get to.

I'm not sure if your year is different but switching my 73's AC box over to a non AC from the same generation (think it was a 74 or 75 that I got it from) was not a direct bolt on. I had to drill a couple new holes in the firewall and box to make it go together but I did manage to salvage a couple of the connections that are already there. So it was not impossible but not exactly cake either. The other thing to keep in mind is that I don't think the fans line up in exactly the same spot. You're lucky though because an AC box is bigger than a non AC box so it should be easier to shift around til things line up. And the final thing to keep in mind is that I had a horrible time getting my AC box out in one piece as its fiberglass and many of the nuts/bolts that hold it in are very difficult to get to.

Mine is a same generation swap ('75 to '77) but what is a little confusing is that the "AC Delete" panel looks like the panel would cover the entire opening where the evaporator goes. Some of the feedback I have received indicates that this is not the case, but I will have to cut the opening some to accomodate the evaporator. Drilling a few holes to accept the AC housing with the evaporator is expected.

Did you have to cut your non-AC firewall to accept the AC housing other than drilling the bolts holes?

Bruce

I'm not sure what that evaporator is (is that part of the AC system? I just kind of took that all out without looking at it too much). The only two holes in my firewall (and my car was originally AC) were the hole for the fan and the hole with the flap that lets heat in. I know the fan didn't line up and I had to cut the hole wider so it overlapped the hole in the firewall better. However, since the AC equipment is larger than the non AC box, you should have more room to slide it around until it lines up better. I had a very small amount of space where the smaller non AC box still covered everything and kind of got stuck widening a hole.

If you need some photos, look at the 6th page in my gallery here (the link is in my signature)

8) If you have both vehicles just make a template from the Elky with air firewall and make needed changes if any to the other one! :)